Obama Joker

For those of you who’ve seen Batman: The Dark Knight you’ll understand how shocking the Joker was in the film, and he had the ability to cause anarchy and disruption in Gotham City. Played by the late Heath Ledger, Joker has now been associated with Americas President Obama in a new viral poster campaign.

The first sighting of the poster was on an LA highway overpass, but since then it has become an online hit by photographs appearing in news websites, blogs and magazines. The controversial poster of President Obama includes the Jokers key attributes; white face paint, dark eye shadow, smudged lipstick and cuts on his lips. The reworked photograph is accompanied by the word ‘Socialism’ written below Obamas’ face and it’s hard to miss because the lettering is that big!

Nobody has come forward to take credit for this creation and no one has explained the theory behind it leaving individuals to come to their own conclusions. This has led to further interpretations of this image [more scenes from the film compared to Obama etc] being spawned showing this poster has become a successful piece of marketing.

The Joker made a massive impact when Heath Ledger portrayed him in The Dark Knight, and this has been transferred into this image of Obama. I think the significant feature that has made the Obama Joker a sensation is the shock and mystery behind the photograph. Who made it, why did they make it and why the Joker?

The Mona Lisa Coffee Cups

This impressive tribute to The Mona Lisa has been created using 3,604 cups of coffee and 564 pints of milk. The milk was used to produce the different shades of sepia for the coffee by adding a little, or lot of milk. The iconic painting has been brought to life with this strategy, and it seems to have made the project fun and unique so that it appeals to more members of the public.

The completed project has generated a pixel effect that is very intricate and detailed, and furthermore has caught people’s eyes at The Rocks Aroma Festival in Sydney. Not only did each cup have to make a different shade, but had to be filled up to a specific level. Can you believe it only took 3 hours to complete!









*Photograph from www.telegraph.co.uk
*Picture from www.bbc.co.uk/science

Who's Wathcing the Watchmen?

I went to see the highly anticipated movie Watchmen when it came out in March of this year. The film is based on the original graphic novel by Alan Moore, and was directed by Zack Snyder [300]. I was really excited to see this movie because of one; I was impressed by the graphic style of the trailers that were released, and secondly, I enjoyed Alan Moores ‘V for Vendetta’.

With high expectations I was expecting to see a brilliant, intriguing and well put together movie, but instead I got the total opposite. From what I can remember about the film, I just didn’t feel that I got totally engaged with the idea of superheroes being normal part of life, and I just didn’t understand the alternate world. The visuals were excellent but the majority of these can be seen on the trailers, and some of the scenes got a bit too clichéd and overworked for my liking. Another key element to making a great film is the score, which was so inappropriate and I believe just did not fit the style of the film. The Watchmen seemed very ‘bitty’ and it was obvious that scenes were pulled directly from the graphic novel, which may have looked good on paper, but do not flow very well on the big screen. The film is about two and half hours long and honestly, it felt longer!

However I am always willing to experience things again and have borrowed the DVD from a friend, along with the graphic novel. Whilst just browsing through the graphic novel it’s pretty clear what Zack Snyder tried to do with the Watchmen movie, and how close he tried to keep it to the originality of the book. I can see pictures in the book that look the same as what is on screen, so it maybe more of an interesting read. The novel seems much more fascinating and captivating, as if it will pull you into the world of the Watchmen so I am hoping that this will redeem my view of the Watchmen franchise. I will keep you posted!

*Picture from www.themovingpicture.net

Mehndi

I was thinking about the world body painting festival and it kind of reminded me of a Hindu tradition called Mehndi. Mehndi uses henna paste as temporary paint and is applied on various occasions including weddings, Diwali and family get togethers. Henna is a flowering plant that is used for Mehndi as body art, but can also be used as a hair dye. Once applied, the henna stains the skin within a few moments and gradually develops a reddy-brownish colour until it hits its peak, then it begins to fade. One coat lasts about 7-10 days.

I’ve not seen the paint being applied myself but some of the outcomes are very intricate and detailed, and the fact that the paint develops a variety of shades throughout its life means it looks different at different times. This is what I believe separates itself from a tattoo, and the obvious fact that it’s not permanent!

The art of Mehndi has been around for years and I think it takes a lot of creativity to draw these diverse designs, along with talent and years of practice. When I’ve seen Mehndi at weddings and Hindu festivals I’ve never had the chance to look closely at the designs, but when Diwali comes around again [which is soon] I’ll try to watch some being applied and keep track of the colour changes.
*Photograph from www.nishamehndi.co.uk